Two committees to probe patient’s death, ‘antibiotic concoction’

The second committee will probe whether Shaikh’s death was directly related to the drug reaction.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) set up two committees Wednesday to investigate the death of 47-year-old Saira Shaikh and to look into the reasons for antibiotic reactions suffered by 27 other female patients in civic-run Kurla Bhabha hospital
on Monday.

BMC’s additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Deshmukh said, “One committee will investigate whether procedural lapses led to the antibiotic reaction in patients. Another committee will find out the reasons due to which the patient died and record statements of all staffer.”

He added that a report is expected to be prepared by Friday. On Monday, 15 women were shifted to KEM hospital and 14 others to Sion hospital after they complained of vomiting, body pain, cold and fever, half an hour after being injected with Ceftriaxone 1,000 mg and Cefotaxime 1,000 mg drugs in Kurla Bhabha hospital.

According to sources from the civic body, since four male patients injected with the same drug in the hospital’s male ward did not show any reaction to the drugs, the possibility of faulty procedure in the female ward is expected to be the only reason for the antibiotic reaction. A committee headed by Dr Vidya Thakur will investigate that.

The second committee under Dr Suhasini Nagda, director of medical education and major hospitals in BMC, will probe whether Shaikh’s death was directly related to the drug reaction.

The body was sent for post-mortem to state-run JJ hospital and a report on the chemical analysis is awaited. “I have formed a team of microbiologists, physicians, and pharmacologists to look into the case. Investigations are still on”, said Nagda.